Video game for interactively modeling community health behavior and costs for prevention and treatment

ABSTRACT

A video game application that interactively simulates how a budget can be managed for health care prevention and treatment in a community based upon several factors. These factors include the availability and type of prevention and treatment facilities in the community, how effectively a populace uses available facilities, and how effectively costs are managed for increasing the capacity of treatment and prevention in the community. A player can advance to a next round of the video game if all of the virtual populace has either received treatment for an illness (when they are ill) or participated in a prevention action. Also, to successfully complete a round, the number of emergency hospital visits that occur during a round are less than a predetermined parameter and the costs incurred during the round do not exceed the current round&#39;s budget. Health indicators may also be associated with members of the virtual populace.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to video games, and more particularly, to interactively predicting costs for community health care insurance based on subscriber behavior.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer video games are a popular form of entertainment finding widespread use in a variety of forms, including: standalone game systems, game cartridge systems connected to television sets, and game software for personal computers.

Many video game systems, today, are played across multiple computers, which are connected together by a network. These systems allow multiple players sitting at individual computers, often remote from each other, to participate in, the same game. Players are able to compete against each other as well as simulated opponents that may be managed by a game server, thereby adding a new dimension to the competition. These systems, and others, may also allow many players to participate in separate video games competing against a simulated opponent managed by the game server, rather than another remote player.

For their part, many of today's video games are written in a wide variety of methods, such as object-oriented programming languages, scripts and interpreted programming languages. The data for playing video games are often stored in tables, databases, spreadsheets, and the like.

Although video games have been popular as a form of entertainment for some time, they have also found acceptance for educational purposes in various industries/businesses. For example, an educational video game might be employed to interactively communicate the relatively complex relationship between community health care behavior and health care insurance costs in an engaging and user friendly manner. It is thus with respect to these considerations, and others, that the invention has been made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will be made to the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, which is to be read in association with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system for implementing an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of modules for a video game application;

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a process for implementing an embodiment of the video game application;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a process for implementing an embodiment of the video game application;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary display of at least a portion of a plurality of parameters for playing a first round of an embodiment of the video game application;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary display of a plurality of instructions for managing treatment and prevention facilities within the virtual community for an embodiment of the video game application;

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary display of a portion of a populace disposed at different locations in the virtual community for an embodiment of the video game application;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary display of a wildcard event during a round of play for an embodiment of the video game application;

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary display of an analysis after a first round of play for an embodiment of the video game application;

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary display of at least a portion of a plurality of parameters for playing a second round of an embodiment of the video game application; and

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary graph of the relationship between prevention costs and treatment costs for an embodiment of the video game application, in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to addressing the above-mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems, and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Among other things, the present invention may be embodied as methods or devices. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Briefly stated, the invention is directed towards a method, a system, an apparatus, and a processor readable media for a video game that interactively simulates how a budget can be managed for health care prevention and treatment in a community is dependent upon several factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, the availability and type of prevention and treatment facilities in the community, how effectively a populace uses available facilities, and how effectively costs are managed for increasing the capacity of treatment and prevention in the community. A player can advance to a next round of the video game if all of the virtual populace has either received treatment for an illness (when they are ill) or participated in a prevention action. Also, to successfully complete a round, the number of emergency hospital visits that occur during a round are less than a predetermined parameter and the costs incurred during the round do not exceed the current round's budget. Additionally, at least one type of a negative health incident is randomly generated by the video game for each round of play. Treatment and prevention costs are generally based on incidents that randomly occur in a virtual community and actions by a player. Also, in at least one embodiment, multiple players can either consecutively or simultaneously participate.

For at least one embodiment, a user interface is provided that graphically shows an overview of a virtual community that is initially populated with at least one treatment facility and at least one prevention facility. Visual representations of the populace are displayed moving and/or gathering at different locations in the virtual community. For each round of play, the video game provides one or more playing parameters. These parameters include, but are not limited to, an initial budget, a period of time for playing the round, a number and frequency of virtual persons to be displayed over the period of time for the round, an amount and frequency of incidents of illness to be contracted by at least one virtual person, an amount and frequency of physical trauma to befall at least one virtual person, an amount and a frequency of mental illness to effect at least one virtual person, an amount and a type of treatment facilities, and an amount and a type of prevention facilities.

For at least one embodiment, at least one other parameter is provided for each type of treatment facility including, but not limited to, an amount to be debited from the budget for each treatment provided to a virtual person, an amount of virtual persons that can be simultaneously provided with treatment, an amount of time to complete the treatment provided to a virtual person. Exemplary types of treatment facilities include, but are not limited to, a virtual person's residence, a pharmacy, an alternative care center such as a naturopathic center or a chiropractor clinic, a walk-in medical clinic, a doctor's office, and a hospital. In at least one embodiment, a range of high to low costs are provided for each type of treatment facility, e.g., the most expensive treatment might be provided at a hospital, and the least expensive treatment might be provided at the virtual person's residence and the rest could fall somewhere in between.

Also, in at least one embodiment, for each type of prevention facility at least one other parameter is provided including, but not limited to, an amount of a credit to be added to the budget for the completion of a prevention action provided to a virtual person at the prevention facility, an amount of virtual persons that can simultaneously be provided with a prevention action at the prevention facility, and an amount of time to complete providing a prevention action to each virtual person. Exemplary types of prevention facilities include, but are not limited to, a park, a health food restaurant, a doctor's office, and a fitness center.

In at least one embodiment, wild cards incidents may be randomly generated which provide either a positive or negative effect on the health of at least one person in the virtual community. Exemplary positive health wild cards include, but are not limited to, a Stop Smoking Campaign, a Healthy Snack Subsidy, a Wellness Campaign, a Fitness Center Membership Subsidy, and a Customizable Campaign and a Customizable Subsidy. When a positive health wild card occurs in a round, it can provide an improvement in the health of at least one or more virtual persons in the community for a period of time that can be equal to or less than the current round. Conversely, exemplary negative health wild cards include, but are not limited to, an Outbreak of a Communicable Illness, a Large Emission of Pollution, burdensome Government Regulations and/or Taxes, Nuclear Radiation Fallout, a Terrorist Attack, an Earthquake, Large Motor Vehicle Accident, Availability of Dangerous Recreational Drugs, Increase in Criminal Violence, and a Severe Storm. When a negative health wild card occurs in a round, it can provide a decrease in the health of at least one or more virtual persons in the community for a period of time that can be equal to or less than the current round.

After the player successfully completes a round, the budget and the amount of virtual persons are increased for the next round. However, for at least one embodiment, an extra bonus amount can be added to the next round's budget based on a player's effectiveness at managing a plurality of parameters, including but not limited to, amount of ill virtual persons provided with treatment, amount of virtual persons provided with prevention actions, amount of virtual persons requiring emergency treatment, and the speed that the player provides ill virtual persons with treatment at an available and appropriate treatment facility. Also, in at least one embodiment, the player can select at least one of, but not limited to, a size of the virtual environment, an amount of virtual persons in the virtual community, a level of difficulty and a length of a period of time for a round.

In at least one embodiment, a virtual person may be provided with one or more health indicators which demonstrate a visual representation of the person's health, or are otherwise associated with the person. For example, a healthy virtual person's health indicator(s) might turn color (e.g., green), change body posture, and/or show signs (e.g., exclamation points) to indicate an incident has occurred that is negatively affecting the person's health. And as long as the ill virtual person is not provided to a treatment facility, the ill (negative) health indicator(s) may worsen, e.g., increase in size, change color, and/or increased negative character details, to visually indicate further deterioration of the virtual person's health. Conversely, once the unhealthy virtual person is provided to an available treatment facility, the health indicator(s) can decrease in size, change color, and/or change detail, to indicate improvement in the virtual person's health.

Also, in some embodiments health indicator(s) may be for a capacity of the facility that applies. In such embodiments, health indicator(s) may not indicate a virtual person's health, which may be shown instead by their physical posture or by signs (e.g., exclamation points), and the virtual person may look sicker or even eventually collapse but this may not be reflected in the capacity health indicator(s) shown by the colored bars.

Optionally, in at least one embodiment, one or more audible health indicators might be provided for a virtual person. For example, an unhealthy virtual person might make unhealthy audible sounds such as moans, groans, sighs, cries or screams, and a healthy virtual person might make healthy sounds such as laughter, singing, or humming. Also, if the player provides an unhealthy virtual person to a treatment facility that does not provide a level of care that can treat the unhealthy person, feedback can be provided to choose another treatment facility either specifically or generally that can provide the appropriate (higher) level of treatment.

Additionally, in at least one embodiment, an unhealthy virtual person is provided with a treatment or a healthy virtual person is provided with a prevention action if the player drags and drops the visual representation of the virtual person onto a treatment facility or prevention facility, respectively. Also, in at least one embodiment, a player can invest at least a portion of the round's budget in building additional prevention and treatment facilities for the community that provide different levels of treatment and prevention. Furthermore, in at least one embodiment, predetermined and/or customizable factors that weight the randomized incidents of illness can be provided for the population of the virtual community, including, but not limited to, climate, age, gender, race, obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking, recreational drug use, mental health, physical fitness, and the like.

Illustrative Operating Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an environment in which an embodiment the present invention may operate. However, not all of these components may be required to practice the invention, and variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. As shown, system 100 of FIG. 1 includes network 105, wireless network 110, server 106, client device 102, and mobile device 104.

Generally, client device 102 may include virtually any computing device capable of receiving and sending a message over a network, such as network 105, wireless network 110, and the like, to and from another computing device, such as server 106, mobile device 104, and the like. The set of such devices may include devices that typically connect using a wired communications medium such as personal computers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, and the like. The set of such devices may also include devices that typically connect using a wireless communications medium such as cell phones, smart phones, pagers, walkie-talkies, radio frequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR) devices, CBs, integrated devices combining one or more of the preceding devices, or virtually any mobile device, and the like. Similarly, client device 102 also may be any computing device that is capable of connecting using a wired or wireless communication medium such as a PDA, POCKET PC, laptop computer, wearable computer, and any other device that is equipped to communicate over a wired and/or wireless communication medium.

Client device 102 may include a browser application that is configured to receive and to send web pages, web-based messages, and the like. The browser application may be configured to receive and display graphics, text, multimedia, and the like, employing virtually any web based language, including Standard Generalized Markup Language (SMGL), such as HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Flash, and so forth.

Client device 102 may further include a client application that enables it to perform a variety of other actions, including, communicating a message, such as through a Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), instant messaging (IM), interne relay chat (IRC), mIRC, Jabber, and the like, between itself and another computing device. The browser application, and/or another application, such as the client application, a plug-in application, and the like, may enable client device 102 to communicate content to another computing device.

Mobile device 104 represents one embodiment of a client device that is configured to be portable. Thus, mobile device 104 may include virtually any portable computing device capable of connecting to another computing device and receiving information. Such devices include portable devices such as, cellular telephones, smart phones, display pagers, radio frequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR) devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, laptop computers, wearable computers, tablet computers, integrated devices combining one or more of the preceding devices, and the like. As such, mobile device 104 typically ranges widely in terms of capabilities and features. For example, a cell phone may have a numeric keypad and a few lines of monochrome LCD display on which only text may be displayed. In another example, a web-enabled remote device may have a touch sensitive screen, a stylus, and several lines of color LCD display in which both text and graphics may be displayed. Moreover, the web-enabled remote device may include a browser application enabled to receive and to send wireless application protocol messages (WAP), and the like. In one embodiment, the browser application is enabled to employ a Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), Wireless Markup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, and the like, to display and send a message.

Mobile device 104 also may include at least one client application that is configured to receive content from another computing device. The client application may include a capability to provide and receive textual content, graphical content, audio content, and the like. The client application may further provide information that identifies itself, including a type, capability, name, identifier, and the like. The information may also indicate a content format that mobile device 104 is enabled to employ. Such information may be provided in a message, or the like, sent to server 106, and the like.

Mobile device 104 may be configured to communicate a message, such as through a Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), instant messaging (IM), interne relay chat (IRC), mIRC, Jabber, and the like, between another computing device, such as server 106, and the like. However, the present invention is not limited to these message protocols, and virtually any other message protocol may be employed.

Client device 102 and/or mobile device 104 may be further configured to enable a user to participate in a video game application for managing the health care treatment and prevention budget for the populace of a virtual community, and the like, which may in turn be saved at a location, such as server 106, client device, mobile device, and the like. As such, client device 102 and/or mobile device 104 may further include a client application that is configured to manage various actions on behalf of the client device. For example, the client application may enable a user to interact with the browser application, email application, and the like, to manage their video game information. For example, the user may employ the client application, in part, to create a user profile, access and interact with the video game application.

Wireless network 110 is configured to couple mobile device 104 and its components with network 105. Wireless network 110 may include any of a variety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alone ad-hoc networks, and the like, to provide an infrastructure-oriented connection for mobile device 104. Such sub-networks may include mesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, and the like.

Wireless network 110 may further include an autonomous system of terminals, gateways, routers, and the like connected by wireless radio links, and the like. These connectors may be configured to move freely and randomly and organize themselves arbitrarily, such that the topology of wireless network 110 may change rapidly.

Wireless network 110 may further employ a plurality of access technologies including 2nd (2G), 3rd (3G) generation radio access for cellular systems, WLAN, Wireless Router (WR) mesh, and the like. Access technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G, and future access networks may enable wide area coverage for mobile devices, such as mobile device 104 with various degrees of mobility. For example, wireless network 110 may enable a radio connection through a radio network access such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), and the like. In essence, wireless network 110 may include virtually any wireless communication mechanism by which information may travel between mobile device 104 and another computing device, network, and the like.

Network 105 is configured to couple server 106 and its components with other computing devices, including, client device 102, server 106, and through wireless network 110 to mobile device 104. Network 105 is enabled to employ any form of computer readable media for communicating information from one electronic device to another. Also, network 105 can include the Internet in addition to local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct connections, such as through a universal serial bus (USB) port, other forms of communication media, or any combination thereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, including those based on differing architectures and protocols, a router acts as a link between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another. Also, communication links within LANs typically include twisted wire pair or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks may utilize analog telephone lines, full or fractional dedicated digital lines including T1, T2, T3, and T4, Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN5), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), wireless links including satellite links, or other communications links known to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, remote computers and other related electronic devices could be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a modem and temporary telephone link. In essence, network 105 includes any communication method by which information may travel between server 106 and another computing device.

Additionally, communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, modulated data signal, or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The terms “modulated data signal,” and “carrier-wave signal” includes a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information, instructions, data, and the like, in the signal. By way of example, communication media includes wired media such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optics, wave guides, and other wired media and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

In one embodiment, server 106 provides support for a game application. Server 106 may include any computing device capable of connecting to network 105 to enable a user of at least one of client device 102 and mobile device 104 to play the game and communicate related information. Devices that may operate as server 106 include personal computers desktop computers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, mobile devices, network PCs, servers, and the like.

It is noted that while FIG. 1 illustrates a single computing device operable as server 106, the invention is not so limited. For example, the actions attributable to server 106 may be distributed across multiple computing devices, such as a group of servers, a network cluster, and the like, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Additionally, server 106, mobile device 104, and client device 102 can be arranged to be operative with processor readable storage media, such as hard disks, floppy disks, DVDs, CDs, tape drives, Flash Memory Drives, and the like, which can be formatted to include information, instructions, data, data structures, program modules, and the like.

Additionally, although not shown, a peer-to-peer arrangement of wired and/or wireless devices can also be arranged to perform substantially the same actions attributable to the client-server architecture disclosed for FIG. 1. Furthermore, although not shown, the functionality of the server and the client may be arranged in an application that operates on one or multiple computing devices.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of overview 200 of program modules for implementing an embodiment of an exemplary video game application. Video game module 202 is in communication with a plurality of modules that implement various functions for the video game, including, but not limited to, random incidents module 204, network interface module 206, virtual populace module 208, user interface module 210, virtual community module 212, and wild card module 214, and the like. In one or more embodiments, video game module 202 can be arranged in a client-server architecture, peer to peer architecture, and/or as a stand alone application. Also, network interface module 206 can be optionally employed to communicate over a network (wireless and/or wired) with other video game modules and components.

In one embodiment, random incidents module 204 can include a table of potential negative incidents where the incidence is correlated to the probability that such a potential claim for health care treatment might occur over a period of time, such as one year. For example, if a table included 10,000 entries and the incidence of a particular type of potential claim was 1%, then there would be 100 entries in the table for that type of claim 100/10,000=1%). Additionally, random incidents module 204 can include a random number generator that is employed to randomly indicate rows in a claim probability table that are correlated to the potential claims in the table. These randomly indicated potentially negative incidents are subsequently applied during a round of the video game to the populace of the virtual community.

Virtual populace module 208 enables either predetermined parameters or selected parameters to be provided for the virtual populace. For example, these parameters could include, but are not be limited to, gender, age, race, obesity, fitness, and health histories, and the like. User Interface module 210 is arranged to enable the exemplary video game application to communicate over wireless and wired communication networks with other resources, such as other applications, other instances of the video game application, Virtual community module 212 enables either predetermined parameters or selected parameters to be provided for the virtual community. For example, this information could include, but not be limited to, climate, altitude, culture, food cuisine, and the like.

Illustrative Flow Charts

FIG. 3 illustrates an overview 300 of actions associated with playing the video game application. Moving from a start block, the process advances to block 302 where parameters regarding the current round are displayed, such as current budget, round time, max number of hospital emergencies, and the like. Also, a virtual community and at least a portion of the virtual populace for the round are displayed at locations in the virtual community. Next, the process flows to decision block 304 where a determination is made as to whether there is at least one ill virtual person that should be moved to a treatment facility. If true, the process steps to block 306 where the ill virtual person is placed in a treatment facility that is capable of providing at least the level of care necessary to provide treatment that cures the illness of the virtual person and a predetermined cost, if any, is deducted from the current budget. Also, once a virtual person is provided to a treatment facility, it does not return to the virtual community for the remainder of the round.

From block 306, the process advances to decision block 308. Similarly, if the determination at decision block 304 was false, the process would move directly to decision block 308. In either case, at decision block 308, a determination is made as to whether to move a healthy virtual person to a prevention facility. If true and a prevention facility is available, the process steps to block 310 where the healthy virtual person is placed in a prevention facility that is capable of improving the health of the already healthy virtual person and a predetermined cost, if any, is deducted from the current budget. Also, once a virtual person is provided to a prevention facility, it does not return to the virtual community for the remainder of the round.

From block 310, the process advances to decision block 312. Similarly, if the determination at decision block 308 was false, the process would move directly to decision block 312. In either case, at decision block 312, a determination is made as to whether to invest in infrastructure for additional treatment and/or prevention facilities. If true, the process steps to block 314 where funds are deducted from the current budget for the round. Also, once an additional treatment and/or prevention facility is added during around, it is available for both the current round and all subsequent rounds.

From block 314, the process advances to decision block 316. Similarly, if the determination at decision block 312 was false, the process would move directly to decision block 316. In either case, at decision block 316, a determination is made as to whether all of the current budget is spent, the maximum amount of emergency hospital visits are exceeded for the round, or all of the populace has been provided to either a treatment or prevention facility. If true, the process steps to block 318 where the round ends and a score is displayed along with metrics, such as, but not limited to, preventive versus treatment costs incurred, an overall score for the round, and an additional performance bonus, if any, for the next round. However, if the determination at decision block 316 is false, the process loops back to block 302 where substantially the same flow of the process is substantially repeated as discussed above.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of process 400 for enabling the playing of the video game application. Moving from a start block, the process advances to block 402 where at least a budget, a time period, and a difficulty level for the next round is determined. Also, a plurality of parameters are determined, that can be at least in part predetermined or selected by the player. For example, these parameters for the virtual populace could include, but are not be limited to, gender, age, race, obesity, fitness, and health histories, and the like. Also, these parameters for the virtual community could include, but not be limited to, climate, altitude, culture, food cuisine, and the like.

At block 404, if a previous round was played, the process can optionally determine if a performance bonus shall be added to the budget for the next round. In at least one embodiment, the performance bonus is greater if in the previous round more virtual persons were provided to prevention facilities than treatment facilities.

At block 406, the process optionally determines if parameters for wildcard incidents such as discussed above are provided. And if so, in at least one embodiment, these wildcards are arranged for selection by the player during the course of the next round. In at least another embodiment, one or more wildcard incidents are randomly generated by the video game application during the next round.

Moving to block 408, the process enables a next round of the video game application in anticipation of a selection to play the video game application by a user. A player can advance to a next round of the video game if all of the virtual populace has either received treatment for an illness (when they are ill) or participated in a prevention action. Also, to successfully complete a round, the number of emergency hospital visits that occur during a round are less than a predetermined parameter and the costs incurred during the round do not exceed the current round's budget.

Next, the process advances from block 408 and returns to performing other actions.

FIG. 5 shows exemplary display 500 of at least a portion of a plurality of parameters for playing a first round of an embodiment of the video game application. In at least one embodiment, the parameters can include, but are not limited to, a budget, number of virtual persons populated the virtual community, a maximum number of emergency hospital visits, and the like.

FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary display 600 of a plurality of instructions for managing treatment and prevention facilities within the virtual community for an embodiment of the video game application. In at least one embodiment, these instructions can include, but are not limited to, directions as to which facilities provide treatment or prevention and their cost to do so.

FIG. 7 shows exemplary display 700 of a portion of a virtual populace disposed at different locations in the virtual community for an embodiment of the video game application. In at least one embodiment, an ill virtual person includes one or more visual negative health indicators that is colored (e.g., red), plus a thought balloon floating over their head stating their symptoms. In some embodiments, additional or alternative health indicators may be provided, such as body posture indicators and/or signs (e.g., exclamation points).

FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary display 800 of a wildcard incident during a round of play for an embodiment of the video game application. In at least one embodiment, both the wildcard incident and its effect on the current budget for a round are shown as a popup window.

FIG. 9 shows exemplary display 900 of an analysis after a first round of play for an embodiment of the video game application. In at least one embodiment, the prevention versus treatment performance is visually represented, such as a graph, and an overall score is presented in one or more formats such as a numerical score and/or starts. Also, in at least one embodiment, the analysis provides a performance bonus to be added to the budget for the next round based at least in part on the ratio of prevention versus treatment provided to the virtual populace during the previous round.

FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary display 1000 of at least a portion of a plurality of parameters for playing a second round of an embodiment of the video game application. In at least one embodiment, the budget is higher, the number of virtual persons to be managed is higher, and the maximum number of hospital emergencies is greater than those amounts provided in the previous round.

FIG. 11 shows exemplary graph 1100 that illustrates the relationship between prevention costs and treatment costs for an embodiment of the video game application. As shown, the greater the costs spent on prevention, the lesser amounts that are spent on treatment.

Although the present invention has been described in the context of a video game application, the invention is not so limited. For example, the invention may be applicable to virtually any interactive software that employs logic and may provide differing results. Furthermore, an application for implementing the video game application can be provided in different ways, including, client-server, peer-to-peer, stand-alone, applet, and the like.

It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, may be implemented by a combination of hardware-based systems and software instructions. The software instructions may be executed by a processor to cause a series of operational steps to be performed by the processor to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions, which execute on the processor, provide steps for implementing some or all of the actions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustration support combinations of means for performing the specified actions, combinations of steps for performing the specified actions and program instruction means for performing the specified actions. It will also be understood that each block of the flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems, which perform the specified actions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The various embodiments have been described above in light of certain mathematical relationships. A person skilled in the art would note that these mathematical relationships are subject to many possible computer implementations, which are all within the scope of the invention. Furthermore, it should be noted that the language of mathematics allows many ways to convey the same relationship. All such variations of the above described equations and relationships are naturally within the scope of the invention.

The above specification, examples, and data provide illustrative embodiments of the present invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended. 

1. A method for employing a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community, comprising: receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is charged to the budget; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget; during the round of the video game, enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community, wherein the at least one added facility is debited from the budget and available for at least one next round; and at the end of each round of the video game, displaying an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating the method until at least one of the budget is exceeded, each person in the virtual community is provided with at least one of the treatment action and the prevention action, or a maximum amount of emergency hospital visits are exceeded.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the user to select a type of treatment facility and a type of the prevention facility to be added to the virtual community.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying the player of each round as a winner where more prevention actions are performed than treatment actions during the round of the video game.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the user to select at least one parameter for determining a size of the virtual community, a level of difficulty, and an amount of virtual persons in the virtual community.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the user to select a particular treatment facility in the virtual community for each ill person to receive each treatment action.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the user to select a particular prevention facility in the virtual community for each healthy person to receive each prevention action.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing at least one wildcard incident; and employing the at least one wildcard incident to modify the round of the game, wherein each wild card incident is at least one of a positive incident that eases playing the round or a negative incident that provides increased difficulty in playing the round.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing at least one health indicator associated with at least one person in the virtual community.
 10. A system for a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community, comprising: a server, including a memory for storing code that enables actions; a processor for performing actions, comprising: receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; and at the end of each round of the video game, enabling displaying of an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community; and a client comprising: a memory for storing code that enables actions; a processor for performing actions, including: during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is charged to the budget; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget; and during the round of the video game, enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community, wherein the at least one added facility is debited from the budget and available for at least one next round.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the client performs further actions comprising repeating the actions until at least one of the budget is exceeded, each person in the virtual community is provided with at least one of the treatment action and the prevention action, or a maximum amount of emergency hospital visits are exceeded.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the client further comprises enabling the user to select a type of treatment facility and a type of the prevention facility to be added to the virtual community.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the server further comprises enabling an identification of the player of each round as a winner if more prevention actions are performed than treatment actions during the round of the video game.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the server further comprises enabling the user to select at least one parameter for determining a size of the virtual community, a level of difficulty, and an amount of virtual persons in the virtual community.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the server further comprises enabling the user to select a particular treatment facility in the virtual community for each ill person to receive each treatment action.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the client further comprises enabling the user to select a particular prevention facility in the virtual community for each healthy person to receive each prevention action.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the server further comprises: providing at least one wildcard incident; and employing the at least one wildcard incident to modify the round of the video game, wherein each wild card incident is at least one of a positive incident that eases playing the round or a negative incident that provides increased difficulty in playing the round.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the server further comprises: providing at least one health indicator associated with at least one person in the virtual community.
 19. A processor readable storage medium that includes code for enabling actions for employing a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community, comprising: a first module for receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; a second module for enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is debited from the budget during the round of the video game; a third module for enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget during the round of the video game; a fourth module for enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community during the round of the video game, wherein the at least one added facility is charged to the budget and available for at least one next round; and a fifth module for displaying an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community at the end of each round of the video game.
 20. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for repeating the method until at least one of the budget is exceeded, each person in the virtual community is provided with at least one of the treatment action and the prevention action, or a maximum amount of emergency hospital visits are exceeded.
 21. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for enabling the user to select a type of treatment facility and a type of the prevention facility to be added to the virtual community.
 22. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for identifying the player of each round as a winner where more prevention actions are performed than treatment actions during the round of the video game.
 23. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for enabling the user to select at least one parameter for determining a size of the virtual community, a level of difficulty, and an amount of virtual persons in the virtual community.
 24. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for enabling the user to select a particular treatment facility in the virtual community for each ill person to receive each treatment action.
 25. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for enabling the user to select a particular prevention facility in the virtual community for each healthy person to receive each prevention action.
 26. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for providing at least one wildcard incident that is employed to modify the round of the video game, wherein each wild card incident is at least one of a positive incident that eases playing the round or a negative incident that provides increased difficulty in playing the round.
 27. The processor readable storage medium of claim 19, further comprising another module for providing at least one health indicator associated with at least one person in the virtual community.
 28. An apparatus for employing a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community: a memory for storing code that enables actions; a processor for performing actions, including: receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is charged to the budget; during the round of the game, enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget; during the round of the game, enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community, wherein the at least one added facility is debited from the budget and available for at least one next round; and at the end of each round of the video game, displaying an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the actions further comprise providing at least one health indicator associated with at least one person in the virtual community.
 30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the actions further comprise identifying the player of each round as a winner where more prevention actions are performed than treatment actions during the round of the video game. 